Thinking. Floods in Pakistan - donate now

I received this email from Shahesha, a girl I went to high school with in Pakistan. She's Pakistani, married to one of three Aussie brothers, who also grew up there. Hearing about the terrible floods has spurred them to action and they are heading out to do aid relief and give medical help.

Donate to this group who have local knowledge, local language and a lot of experience, and who will put all their money into good help where it's really needed.

As you are all aware, since the end of July there has been severe flooding in Pakistan, but the magnitude of this disaster seems to have escaped many.

After unprecedented monsoonal rains, 20% of Pakistan has been flooded, an area larger than England – mostly fertile farmland. 21 million people are affected, half of these are children and almost 3 million are under the age of five. 10 million are currently living without shelter, 6 million are entirely reliant on emergency food provision, and over 2 million have no home left to go home to at all. The total economic cost to the already poverty stricken country has been estimated to be in excess of 43 billion US dollars.

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has called this the worst disaster he has ever seen. Being Pakistani and Josh having lived there for many years, as have you, you can imagine that this tragedy is very close to our hearts. In response to thisour family has decided that Josh, along with his brothers Greg and Phil and my brother Shani will be travelling to Pakistan in early October, to help with the aid effort.

We have initiated a project called 1toAnother, set up to assist some of the affected communities in the district of Muzzafargarh in southern Punjab. The project will be operating through our Pakistani contacts and our local Church. Early assessments have revealed that a sum of 7 million rupees (AU$100k) is required to address the immediate needs. We are raising funds to take with us to supply these communities with basic necessities that they have lost in the flooding, and for re-establishing critical basic infrastructure such as clean water through decontaminating or re-digging wells.

Josh will personally be getting involved in the management of this project, in planning, procuring and dispensing the much needed supplies along with Greg and Shani. Philip will be involved in medical work in the area, as disease is becoming increasingly rampant, malaria is on the rise and there is a great fear of deadly cholera outbreaks.

I invite you to partner with us in showing compassion to those affected by this tragedy. The needs are large and urgent, and the global response to the tragedy has been sluggish at best. Your donations can make a direct difference to those suffering in this disaster. We ourselves are volunteering our time and airfares, so 100% of donated funds will be used directly in the communities where they are needed most.

Funds are being held on behalf of 1toAnother by Christ Community Church in Brisbane. Donations can be made directly to the following dedicated account:

Christ Community Church Pakistan Relief BSB 034 061 Acct. No. 315 423

To receive an electronic receipt of your donation, updates on the progress of the project and a final financial report (if desired), please email 1toanother@thelocks.net to notify us of your donation. Of course, you are also welcome to donate anonymously. Please follow the progress of 1toAnother on our blog, 1toanother.wordpress.com.